# Does Mythbusters Refuse to Test Myths on Children/Teens/Babies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 29, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313 "2010-11-29T18:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/1 "2010-11-29T18:46:46Z")
Factual question about the show (rather than discussion of the show’s content) to follow, hence GQ. Anyway, I’ve seen every episode of _Mythbusters_, and if my memory serves they’ve done exactly one myth that involved children: taking candy from a baby. There are several myths involving kids/teens/babies that they could test, but for reasons that elude me they don’t. Is this part of their stated policy of “no-no” myths that they won’t touch? I know that there a few others they refuse to do (namely supernatural/paranormal myths). Myth Ideas that Involve Testing Babies/Teens/Children [ul] [li]That a mother of a newborn infant can recognize her baby (from others) by smell.[/li][li]The red Kool-Aid makes kids hyper.[/li][li]That there is a sound frequency that adults can’t hear and that teens can (and it drives them nuts; hence the use of said frequency by people who don’t want teenagers hanging around their businesses).[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/2 "2010-11-29T18:49:57Z")
They did a myth about helium balloons being able to lift a small child in which they actually lifted a small child with helium balloons. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/3 "2010-11-29T18:51:42Z")
I was going to say the balloon thing too. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/4 "2010-11-29T18:52:28Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Factual question about the show (rather than discussion of the show’s content) to follow, hence GQ. > > Anyway, I’ve seen every episode of _Mythbusters_, and if my memory serves they’ve done exactly one myth that involved children: taking candy from a baby. > > There are several myths involving kids/teens/babies that they could test, but for reasons that elude me they don’t. > > Is this part of their stated policy of “no-no” myths that they won’t touch? I know that there a few others they refuse to do (namely supernatural/paranormal myths). > > Myth Ideas that Involve Testing Babies/Teens/Children > [ul] > [li]That a mother of a newborn infant can recognize her baby (from others) by smell.[/li][li]The red Kool-Aid makes kids hyper.[/li][li]That there is a sound frequency that adults can’t hear and that teens can (and it drives them nuts; hence the use of said frequency by people who don’t want teenagers hanging around their businesses).[/li][/ul] Well the last one isn’t a myth, it’s a simple fact. Human hearing degrades as we age and we lose sensitivity to high frequencies. The rate varies from person to person of course, but it’s common medical knowledge and I’ve observed it first hand as well. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/5 "2010-11-29T18:56:37Z")
Yeah, when I took a music theory class in college the professor played a series of tones which got higher and higher and we were to put our hands down once we could no longer hear them. Despite having a super-trained ear, his went down first, and then some of our nontraditional students, and of course us 20 year olds last. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/6 "2010-11-29T18:57:07Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Well the last one isn’t a myth, it’s a simple fact. They don’t actually limit themselves to testing “myths” in a strict sense. They test claims of all kinds, events portrayed in movies, things people have heard, or the implications of figures of speech or jokes (“like a bull in a china shop”). ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/7 "2010-11-29T18:58:41Z")
By and large the myths they test do not involve test subjects, but consist of them making things or trying experiments. One reason for this probably is things that require test subjects typically need many test subjects to be statistically valid and hence are more time consuming to film. Also and perhaps more importantly, nothing blows up so the show ends up much less interesting to watch. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/8 "2010-11-29T19:02:00Z")
Actually, the first one isn’t in question, either. Moms \*do \*identify their babies by smell alone, even after a single exposure post-partum. Non-moms can do it to, although they have to hold the unrelated baby a bit longer. Dads, sadly, don’t seem to have the knack (or nose) for it. [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?\_ob=ArticleURL&\_udi=B6X2B-45WDS2N-1B&\_user=10&\_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1983&\_rdoc=1&\_fmt=high&\_orig=search&\_origin=search&\_sort=d&\_docanchor=&view=c&\_searchStrId=1560463929&\_rerunOrigin=google&\_acct=C000050221&\_version=1&\_urlVersion=0&\_userid=10&md5=cc972f3e7fd7266b51ab0fe945dd6812&searchtype=a](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6X2B-45WDS2N-1B&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1983&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1560463929&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=cc972f3e7fd7266b51ab0fe945dd6812&searchtype=a) > **[Smell-recognition of newborns by women who are not mothers](https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article-abstract/17/2/225/281831)** > > Abstract. Women without children held an unrelated infant in their arms for 1 hr and then were tested for infant-smell-recognition. Most were successful. This i But as for the larger question, I have to agree that it’s just out of their scope of practice, so to speak. Where’s the engineering? The building stuff? The blowing up of said stuff at the end? It ain’t Mythbusters without a good 'splosion at the end. ---
**Author:** ![andrewm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@andrewm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewm)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/9 "2010-11-29T19:03:43Z")
There was also the “baby carriage sucked onto train tracks” episode. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/10 "2010-11-29T19:42:23Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Yeah, when I took a music theory class in college the professor played a series of tones which got higher and higher and we were to put our hands down once we could no longer hear them. Despite having a super-trained ear, his went down first, and then some of our nontraditional students, and of course us 20 year olds last. In fact, high frequency hearing loss is an occupational hazard for many musicians, and not just rock bands. It happens among orchestral players, particularly brass players, and those that have to sit in front of them. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/11 "2010-11-29T19:57:11Z")
They did the whole “taking candy from a baby” myth. Quite amusing too, seeing the little tykes howl with outrage, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/12 "2010-11-29T20:07:35Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > They did the whole “taking candy from a baby” myth. Which **HeyHomie** noted as the one “child myth” he’d seen them do. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/13 "2010-11-29T20:10:19Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > But as for the larger question, I have to agree that it’s just out of their scope of practice, so to speak. Where’s the engineering? The building stuff? The blowing up of said stuff at the end? It ain’t Mythbusters without a good 'splosion at the end. I suspect that’s most of it. If it’s not a myth that lets them do at least one of the following: - Build something big and / or outrageous - Engage in silly, gross, or potentially injury-causing behavior - Destroy something (via collision, explosion, or use of weaponry) …it seems to be relatively unlikely they’ll tackle it. (And, I say this as a big fan of the show. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/14 "2010-11-29T20:26:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Which **HeyHomie** noted as the one “child myth” he’d seen them do. C’mon, I can’t be expected to read the OP _and_ post, can I? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/15 "2010-11-29T20:28:17Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > C’mon, I can’t be expected to read the OP _and_ post, can I? 😛 Speaking as someone who’s repeatedly skipped reading some responses to posts, and thus, made completely redundant posts as a result, I know where you’re coming from. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/16 "2010-11-29T21:00:14Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > They did a myth about helium balloons being able to lift a small child in which they actually lifted a small child with helium balloons. Oh yeah, I forgot that one. :smack: I remember getting a big kick out of Scotty making an analogue of the little girl for initial testing; it was a 50-pound sack of sugar onto which she’d painted a face and glued pigtails. 🙂 One of the things that’s cool about the show is seeing the team’s methodology, not just the myths. For example, on the Mythbusters message boards every now and then someone will suggest testing supposed deer-repellant whistles that mount to the front of your car. All of the self-righteous griefers on those boards will descend upon the OP like a pack of wild wolves, pointing out with righteous indignation that _Consumer Reports_ had already de-bunked those things. Except that readers of _Consumer Reports_ don’t get to see the methodology that was used in testing the devices, so it would be a good test for Adam & Jamie to test for two reasons: one, we get to see _them_ bust a myth; and two, we get to see _how_ they do it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/17 "2010-11-29T21:23:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember getting a big kick out of Scotty making an analogue of the little girl for initial testing; it was a 50-pound sack of sugar onto which she’d painted a face and glued pigtails. What, no spice? That’s a completely unrealistic analogue! Next you’ll tell me that they left out the puppy dog tails from the little boy analogue. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/18 "2010-11-29T21:31:57Z")
When I taught Anatomy, the introduction to the sense organs started with me assembling a pure wave generator with speaker and switch. I would hide all of the apparatus behind my desk and unbeknown to my students, turn it on when the bell rang. The volume was quite loud. The students would hear the sound…I had it at 22,000 hertz…and since it was quite piercing, would exclaim, and ask me what the noise was. I would say “what noise” and hold the speaker up to my ear. As I can’t hear anything above 8,000 hertz, it served as a good way to get the focus for the intro. They were young and I was middle aged, say 40s and 50s. I “loved torturing” my students…and they didn’t seem to mind, actually. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/19 "2010-11-29T23:47:31Z")
They did do a whole episode on whether a free-falling skydiver hitting a see-saw with a child on the other end would launch the child up to the top of a 7-story building. However, they didn’t use a real child, just Buster’s little sister Ariel (aerial). She did go up 130’, almost double what the myth called for. But they also determined that the sheer acceleration at the see-saw would’ve killed a human child. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313/20 "2010-11-30T00:19:28Z")
I think they used a little girl analogue for the myth “Can a person swing 360 degrees on a swing set?”. Maybe Buster’s little sister again. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mythbusters-refuse-to-test-myths-on-children-teens-babies/562313.md?page=2)